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Original Text
From: Sam Lanfranco <[log in to unmask]>, on 10/4/99 5:31 PM:
Please help disseminate widely. Thank you...
Jocelyne Bruyere
TDR Communications
Global Tuberculosis Research Initiative welcomes
expansion of TDR portfolio
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http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/tdrnews/special/tb.htm
In its second annual meeting, held 29 June to 1 July 1999 in Casablanca,
Morocco, the Global Tuberculosis Research Initiative (GTRI) hailed the
inclusion of TB in the TDR portfolio of diseases. The meeting, held hard
on the heels of JCB endorsement of expanded TDR activities, was
co-sponsored by TDR. GTRI brings together diverse partners from bench
researchers to TB control programme personnel with the dual goals of
developing a sustainable agenda for TB research addressing the needs of
TB- endemic communities and increasing the resources allocated to TB
research. The infusion of TDR expertise in training, research, and
product development is expected to give substantial momentum to the
drive to develop and carry out a significant and practicable global TB
research agenda. The lack of research capability in TB- endemic
countries, especially among TB control personnel, is a major stumbling
block to the execution of a TB research agenda, and among the topics
discussed at the meeting, integration of TB into existing Research
Capacity Strengthening efforts of TDR received special focus.
In its formal recommendations from the meeting, GTRI-2 welcomed the
inclusion of TB into the TDR portfolio of diseases and recommended
rapid expansion of TB research activities within TDR. Indeed, fully
half of the final recommendations of the GTRI meeting addressed the role
of TDR. Recommendations to TDR included: 1) the sponsorship of
regional workshops to develop country-specific operational research
agendas for TB; 2) the development of strategies to better demonstrate
the epidemiological, economic, and social impact of improvements in the
control of TB and translate the findings of research into forms that can
be readily grasped by policy makers; 3) the expansion of product
development work and industry liaison activities to include
tuberculosis; and 4) the study of methods to streamline TB clinical
trials. Tuberculosis work in TDR has already begun. The Tuberculosis
Diagnostic Initiative has moved into the product development group of
TDR to continue work begun under the former Global Tuberculosis
Programme. It is expected that over the coming one to two years TDR
will build a strategic plan for research and training in TB that will
include all areas of the Special Programme, from functional genomics,
through tool discovery, development and evaluation, to economic and
behavioural research.
Updates on development of activities will be posted on the TDR website:
http://www.who.int/tdr/
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